Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: new york islanders

John Tavares knows how much his Islander team has changed this summer. Even though longtime teammates and friends Kyle Okposo, Frans Nielsen and Matt Martin departed July 1 in free agency and Tavares knew long before then that there was a chance all three could leave, it’s still hard for the Isles captain to believe.

“It hasn’t even really sunk in, maybe until you don’t see them at training camp or during the season and that hasn’t happened yet,” Tavares told Newsday earlier this week. “I don’t think people realize how much I lean on Kyle and Frans, as well as guys like Travis , Clutter [Cal Clutterbuck], Johnny Boychuk. Having those different perspectives is a huge help. And personally for me, you go through a lot of ups and downs and you’re trying to manage a lot of things. When you have people you can rely on, especially with those friendships I have with Kyle and Frans are deep.”

The challenge now, with a little over a month until the Islanders open training camp, is how to handle the loss of three such deeply ingrained players in the fabric of this organization — Okposo and Nielsen were Tavares’ alternate captains the past three seasons — while integrating three veterans in Andrew Ladd, Jason Chimera and PA Parenteau.

Oh, and there’s another wrinkle: When players come to Long Island for physicals on Sept. 21, the captain, the coach and the two most experienced goaltenders won’t be around.

It has been decades since the Islanders had an owner who wasn’t in it to make a real estate killing or to advance a hidden agenda, or both. But now, with the transition of power from Charles Wang to Jon Ledecky (and Scott Malkin) complete, the business of the Islanders is in trusted hands and the agenda is transparent.

Which is to restore the power and glory of the franchise that once spawned the greatest team in the history of the sport.

Make no mistake. This still is going to be tricky business for an operation that, by choice, straddles Long Island and Brooklyn — and in doing so has lost much of its historical identity while yet to create a new one. Let’s face it: It is not as if the Islanders simply moved from one side of 161st Street in The Bronx to the other (even if that divide always has seemed miles wide).

But Ledecky, who hosted a meet-and-greet luncheon for the media at a tony spot in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday, is not so much straddling a line as erasing one. He is not pandering to Long Island by suggesting a return is in the offing, is not offering false hope that even a smattering of games will be played at a remodeled Nassau Coliseum. Is not holding his nose when he talks about Brooklyn.

“Barclays is our home,” the principal owner said without equivocation and without holding his nose.

The New York Post's Larry Brooks discusses the potential fates of more than a few free agents in his Sunday night Slap Shots column, but his focus involves the New York Islanders, who may not be able to retain Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Matt Martin, or, Brooks fears, many free agents going forward:

What’s even worse for the Islanders — who may also lose fourth-line crusher Matt Martin to free agency — is the constant echo reverberating throughout the industry that the unwieldy logistics created by the franchise’s attempt to straddle Brooklyn and Long Island will discourage prime free agents from enlisting.

You should know that those holding that opinion have absolutely no ax to grind with the Islanders. Indeed, several people who took that position over the weekend have nothing but positive things to say about Jon Ledecky and the incoming ownership.

Plus, one agent with a marquee stable of players has told Slap Shots that he would not recommend that his clients sign with the Islanders as a result of the bad ice conditions at Barclays during the playoffs that he deemed “dangerous.”

Sometimes these pronouncements can be hyperbolic, and money can cure many ills, but the perception around the NHL is that the Islanders — hockey department and personnel aside — are not a destination franchise.

This is a critical juncture for the Islanders, who have spent years amassing draft picks and prospects but probably only have this season to cement Tavares’ long-term future with the organization. For if the club cannot attract free agents and can’t keep its own from walking out the door, then what are the odds that No. 91, in a dead heat with Pat LaFontaine as the greatest non-Dynasty player in franchise history, signs on for the duration before he can hit the open market in only two summers?

NEW YORK (April 27, 2016) – The National Hockey League today confirmed the schedule for the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round. In the U.S., NBC Sports Group has exclusive coverage of the Second Round. Sportsnet, CBC and TVA Sports continue exclusive coverage throughout Canada. All times listed are ET and subject to change. Future start times and television information will be released as they are determined.

So, no, I don’t believe that there is the slightest correlation between [Steven] Stamkos’ looming availability this summer and Toronto’s excise of Dion Phaneuf’s $7 million cap hit that runs through 2020-21 via last week’s stunning trade with Ottawa.

The deal does indeed create oodles of projected space for the Leafs down the line, albeit with a skeleton roster, following the 2017-18 season. And who might become available as a 27-year-old free agent on July 1, 2018?

Why, none other than John Tavares.

It is more than two years down the line, and the steps that might take the Mississauga native — for whom Greater Toronto has lusted since ever before this other No. 91’s junior career commenced in Oshawa a decade ago — from here to there cannot be plotted at this early date.

But the Islanders have work to do here with not only Tavares, working on the fourth year of a club-friendly six-year deal worth $5.5 million per season, but with their entire team in making the transition from Long Island to Brooklyn.

Maybe it will change upon this summer’s transfer of ownership, but the franchise thus far has attempted to straddle the two locales, in essence refusing to acknowledge the reality of where the team plays and to whom it belongs.

According to the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch, NHL GM's are entering the period in which they must decide whether they're going to buy to "contend" or sell at the trade deadline, which hits on February 29th this year. That's not an easy decision to make given how tight the standings have been and will continue to remain going forward.

Winnipeg Jets: All eyes are on captain Andrew Ladd and blueliner Dustin Byfuglien. “I don’t believe they’ll both be there after the deadline,” a league executive said Friday. The talk is the Jets tabled a six-year, $6 million deal to Ladd before the season, and that somehow the deal will get done.

Nobody is quite as optimistic about Byfuglien. He has emerged as one of the best players in the league, is a difference maker, and will cash in on the UFA market in the summer. “He’s just a hell of player,” said the executive.

St. Louis Blues: We’re not talking about a franchise with an ownership group that has deep pockets. GM Doug Armstrong has apparently put talks with centre David Backes on hold and with a $4.5 million cap hit he’s going to want a big raise if he’s going to stay with the Blues.

He could fetch a lot in return but the Blues are a contender in the West and they should be looking to add, not subtract. Teams will call but Armstrong has to tread carefully here.

New York Islanders: The sense is there won’t be any deal involving defenceman Travis Hamonic, who asked for a trade a personal reasons, until the NHL entry draft in June. A league executive said: “Garth Snow isn’t going to make this deal unless he gets good value in return.”

Teams have been calling the Isles about UFA winger Kyle Okposo, and why not? You never know where Snow is concerned, but the 27-year-old has a $2.7 million cap hit. The thinking amongst teams is he won’t be going anywhere because the Islanders are in the race and want to stay there.

I have no idea whether or not I would want Patrick Kane to date my sister. I don’t know him except from afar and through a locker-room interview scrum or two. But that hypothetical would not inform my choice for the Hart Trophy if I were to have a ballot, nor should it become an issue when votes are cast immediately after the regular season.

There is no morals clause attached to the Hart, which goes to, “The player adjudged to be the most valuable to his team.”

At this point, with Kane on a franchise-record tying 21-game point streak he aims to break Sunday night, the Blackhawks’ winger is the MVP frontrunner, with Dallas’ James Neal and Tyler Seguin and the Rangers’ Henrik Lundqvist, the Islanders’ John Tavares and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin also in the conversation.

This is a case about hockey. There is nothing more to see here beyond Kane’s brilliance on the ice, just as the Erie County’s DA office decided there was nothing more to see in the “so-called ‘case’ ” there, either.

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and Damien Cox discussed the topics at hand at the GM's meetings in the second week of November (especially given the tug of war between coach's challenges and War Room decisions), Steven Stamkos' usage as a center, the courtship of Nikita Zaitsev by teams interested in the Russian prospect, the low attendance in Brooklyn thus far and news of Auston Matthews' back injury:

The New York Post's Larry Brooks argues that the Chicago Blackhawks may be a dominant team, but are no dynasty:

The Blackhawks are a historically excellent team produced by a model hockey operation. Their three-in-six in the hard cap era is a noteworthy accomplishment. Sharp management is the constant linking this cap era with everything that came before it. That and Scotty Bowman, who keeps finding rings the way kids find Easter eggs.

But the rush to canonize these Blackhawks and include them with the dynastic Canadiens, Islanders and Oilers is foolish. Three-in-six is something, all right, but it isn’t four straight, five straight, four-in-five, or 19 straight series.

It’s the same as the Red Wings’ three-in-six from 1997-2002, better than the Devils’ three-in-nine from 1995-2003, one more than the Avalanche’s two-in-six from 1996-2001, and though those teams didn’t have to deal with the cap, they did have to deal with one another — and a perennially powerful Dallas team — at the top.

And I would take all of those teams over this Blackhawks squad in a fantasy tournament, just as I would take the Red Wings that went four-for-six from 1950-1955 in hypothetical all-time matchups.

It’s a double-edged blade. Just as the cap has made it more exponentially more difficult to keep a powerful team intact, it has also diluted the opposition. The bar just isn’t set as high. No great team, by the way, has ever faced less of a challenge than the five-time, 1956-60 champion Canadiens once Detroit ownership exiled Ted Lindsay in the summer of 1957.

We don't have to debate whether the Chicago Blackhawks are a dynasty because Gary Bettman made them one by commissioner's decree. He referred to them as a "dynasty" in his remarks leading up to presenting the Stanley Cup to Jonathan Toews after the Blackhawks won the Cup with a 2-0 triumph against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final.

That makes the Blackhawks the most decorated team in the post-salary cap era, and deserving to be called one of the top teams in NHL history.

Their current run doesn't measure up statistically to the great Montreal Canadiens teams from 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Toe Blake coached the Canadiens to five consecutive Stanley Cups from 1956-60. Scotty Bowman, who is an adviser for the Blackhawks, guided the Canadiens to four consecutive titles from 1976-79. The Canadiens had a 16-3 record in those four Stanley Cup Finals. Now Scotty's son, Stan, has been general manager of the three Stanley Cup winners in Chicago.

Chicago's run also isn't as lengthy as the New York Islanders run of four consecutive championships from 1980-83. The Edmonton Oilers also have their own distinction by winning five Stanley Cups over seven seasons from 1984 to 1990.

But the Blackhawks are now in the conversation to be called one of the great teams because they have won three titles at a time when the league is in a period of undeniable competitive balance. The statistical difference between the No. 1 team in the league and the No. 16 isn't as pronounced as it once was.

NEW YORK (March 4, 2015) -- New York Islanders forward Matt Martihas been suspended for one game, without pay, for kneeing Dallas Stars defenseman Trevor Daley during NHL Game No. 948 in Dallas on Tuesday, March 3, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

The incident occurred at 1:48 of the first period. Martin was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Martin will forfeit $5,376.34. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

As the New York Post's Larry Brooks notes, the New York Islanders are starting to resemble a functional, decently-run hockey team just as they're nearing their exit from the Nassau Coliseum:

A redwood might be on the verge of taking root in Brooklyn, but a hockey team is growing on Long Island, and right before the same very eyes that once gloried in visions of the Dynasty that ruled the sports world three decades ago.

All across sports, you hear about franchises building toward the opening of new arenas or stadia. The baseball Braves are directing their energy toward rebuilding their organizational talent level to coincide with the team’s move to the suburbs in 2017. It sounds like a marketing roll-out plan every bit as much as it does a plan to contend.

Here on the Island, perhaps through a matter of serendipitous timing, the Islanders are holding their coming-out party on their way out of the Coliseum — where John Tavares, Jaro Halak, Travis Hamonic and friends have embraced this final opportunity to skate in the footprints of Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith and Denis Potvin.

A bookmaker pleaded guilty Thursday to laundering a $230,000 gambling debt — a payment his attorney said was made with a New York Islanders check.

That payment — apparently a salary check that was endorsed and handed over to cover wagers — was made at the same time hockey superstar Thomas Vanek played for the Islanders, said local attorney James Wolford.

Wolford declined to say whether the payment came from Vanek, who has been linked to the alleged Rochester-based gambling ring. Vanek has acknowledged testifying before a grand jury and sources say his name turned up in records seized from the alleged bookmakers.

Still, Wolford said he was surprised that Vanek's agent said in an interview that Vanek was not involved in any wrongdoing.

And it gets worse from there:

Wolford said after the plea that the $230,000 was a small portion of the overall debt owed by the gambler who paid with an Islanders check. The total of the debt was more than $1 million, he said.

Given Wang's wacky ways (see: the repeated attempts to tie renovating Nassau Coliseum or build a new rink based upon the "Lighthouse Project's" various guises), it's surprising but not shocking to find that Fortune Magazine's David Primack and Daniel Roberts report that Wang had been working on selling the Islanders to a third group, too:

Apparently unbeknownst to Barroway, Fortune has learned that Wang also was negotiating to sell the team to a Boston-based investment firm called Peak Ridge Capital. Not beginning in March, but several months earlier.

The ultimate agreement would have valued the team at $508 million — Peak Ridge originally had offered around $30 million less — with Wang sending Peak Ridge a purchase and sale agreement that in many sections is identical to the one sent to Barroway (it is worth noting that Peak Ridge would have been aware of Barroway’s attempts to purchase the team, as it had been leaked to the media). Part of the Peak Ridge group included a former NHL player, who likely would have run hockey operations.

If you don't follow Paul on Twitter, you should for many reasons, including the fact that he posts a significant amount of content that doesn't quite make blog standards, generally because it's more "talk" than "news" (and we want you to get the news here on KK, not the fluffernutter). Three of those kinds stories follow:

1. Tomas Kaberle is 36, he posted a less-than-enthralling 4 goals, 20 assists and a -8 in 48 games with HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga this past season (and 3 assists and a -5 in 5 games for the Czech Olympic team; I'm not sure if the pass-first-past-second-and-pass-third defenseman ever shoots the puck), but he showed up at Biosteel Sports' pro camp in Toronto on Monday, and in addition to reminiscing upon his time spent in Toronto, Kaberle told the National Post's Michael Traikos that he's got a try-out deal in the works...

“It’s not in Ontario,” Kaberle said Monday at the BioSteel Pro Hockey Camp at St. Michael’s College. “I’m planning to stay around here if possible, so we’ll see what’s going to happen in the next few weeks.”

Kaberle discussed his decision to spend a year with his hometown team...

Would-be Islanders suitor Charles Barroway is suing current Islanders owner Charles Wang for $10 million after Wang reneged on the sale of the soon-to-be-Brooklyn-based team, and the New York Times' Richard Sandomir went so far as to pen an editorial-style article suggesting that Wang's--well, let's be honest here--awful stewardship of the team merits all but a moral imperative to sell the team to someone who can competently manage it.

This morning, the New York Post's Josh Kosman reports that Barroway's lawsuit involves someone with an intriguing tie to a certain sport's commissioner, and that commissioner now finds himself in a sticky situation:

An adviser working for the hedge-fund manager who sued the New York Islanders for reneging on a deal to sell him the team is NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s half-brother, The Post has learned.

Andrew Barroway hired Jeffrey Pollack several months ago after reaching a handshake deal to buy the club from owner Charles Wang for $420 million, sources said.

Wang and Bettman are believed to be pals.

And in addition to reporting that Barroway had difficulty actually coughing up the cash to purchase the team, Kosman reports that Wang increased the asking price for the team substantially (and many suspect that Wang did so after the Los Angeles Clippers sold for a billion dollars):

We haven't had this kind of day in a long time. It's the middle of July, officially, and while the Wings named their assistant coach and the Predators signed Derek Roy and Mike Ribeiro, the balance of the day's stories have played out as follows:

TSN's posting double doses of Insider Trading videos due to the massive amount of pre-draft trade talk, and I should've known better than to simply post the Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch's update on Jason Spezza's situation without looking for a rumor-related column on other Sun newspaper sites (the Ottawa Sun doesn't always post articles on his columnist page in a timely manner).

The Toronto Sun posted Garrioch's wining-and-dining update, and I need to say this out loud: while this summer's class of unrestricted free agents-to-be is particularly thin, I have the sinking feeling that we're going to see more classes like these--where second-line players and second-pair defensemen are the ones who hit the market and make top-player money, serving as the main source of player-value inflation (as yahoo Sports' Nicholas J. Cotsonika suggested).

The wining-and-dining period is great in terms of allowing teams to explain their expectations for players, and vice versa, but the number of offers these players are receiving over the course of consecutive days are driving up their asking prices considerably (of course, there are no numbers being exchanged ), and I really get the feeling that we're going to see Paul Stastny and Matt Niskanen become $7 million players come July 1st.

he Islanders have the fifth pick in Friday's draft and, rather than going into draft weekend looking to add to their prospect pool as in years past, Islanders general manager Garth Snow is looking to trade that pick for NHL-ready talent after an unsuccessful season.

"We're open to trading the pick for someone we think can come in and help us right away," Snow said recently.

After spending last summer plugging smaller holes and prioritizing long-term deals for his own restricted free agents, Snow clearly wants to upgrade his roster this summer. He began doing it early, trading a fourth-round pick May 1 to the Caps for the rights to goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who signed a four-year, $18-million deal three weeks later to become the presumptive No. 1 goaltender the Isles haven't had.

The Islanders still need a backup or two, with Evgeni Nabokov having turned down a one-year offer. But now Snow's main focus is using that fifth pick to find either a top-pair defenseman or a top-line left wing to play alongside John Tavares and Kyle Okposo.

The Stanley Cup Final is on but GM's are already focusing about next season. We expect Brad Richards to be bought out by the New York Rangers - what about Mike Richards by L.A.?

Darren Dreger: Well the Los Angeles Kings don't plan on buying out Mike Richards because then they would have to replace him. But Mike Richards doesn't want to be a fourth-line centre next year for the Kings. The Kings are expected to push Richards in the off-season to improve his conditions and get a little bit stronger. But we also know that Richards is a strong and confident young man and he may not want to follow the path that the Kings want him to follow. So this could get very interesting.

Is current Philadelphia Flyer Vincent Lecavalier soon to be an ex-Flyer?

George here...This probably makes me a bad person, but USA Today's Nate Scott reports that Sabres goon John Scott was taken down by a young Islander, 5'10" rookie Justin Johnson, and well, sometimes it's good to see a hockey player who doesn't respect hs opponents get his just desserts:

The Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson leads us up to the trade deadline wondering whether the trade deadline will in fact play out as witnessing Chicago, Los Angeles, San Jose and Anaheim attempt to strike back at the St. Louis Blues' preemptive roster-strenghtening strike in bringing Ryan Miller and Steve Ott into the fold:

Do the Kings have to get New York Islanders’ unrestricted free agent winger Thomas Vanek now, even if the whole world knows Vanek is going to sign in Minnesota, where he has a summer home? Or should they go for Matt Moulson, who played 29 games with L.A. after general manager Dean Lombardi signed him as a free agent out of Cornell University in 2006?

Do the Ducks, who have two first-round picks and two seconds this June and need a right-handed shooting defenceman, take a big swing at six-foot-eight Tyler Myers in Buffalo, even though his salary-cap hit is $5.5 million? They could offer somebody like forward Kyle Palmeiri, but would probably keep winger Emerson Etem and goalie Viktor Fasth.

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch offers a smorgasbord of rumor news in his last pre-trade-deadline Sunday missive, but the best way to summarize his statements involves encapsulating the following and letting you read on from there:

TOP 5 SELLERS

BUFFALO SABRES - GM Tim Murray made a huge move Friday by dealing goaltender Ryan Miller and captain Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues. He isn’t finished yet, he still has Matt Moulson and anyone else up for grabs.

EDMONTON OILERS - Craig MacTavish has been trying to make moves all year and he’s made a couple of deals. He’d like to move forward Ales Hemsky and will retain salary. A lot of teams will try to make a bigger deal for winger Jordan Eberle.

N.Y. ISLANDERS - Losing captain John Tavares to injury gives GM Garth Snow the green light to move left wing Thomas Vanek and defenceman Andy MacDonald. Vanek might be the most sought-after player and MacDonald won’t be far behind.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS - This might be a bit of a surprise but they are a longshot to make the playoffs. A lot of teams have called about centre David Legwand. He may not be the only one to go. Wouldn’t be surprised to see many gone.

CALGARY FLAMES - Interim GM Brian Burke hasn’t made any bold moves since he took over but you can expect him to be busy. The club would like to keep UFA Mike Cammalleri but it’s doubtful he’ll stay. There are options for buyers.

Garrioch goes from there, listing his top 5 buyers, discussing Markov to Edmonton(?), the Stars' situation, news from Long Island, New York City, San Jose, Calgary, etc...

And this is just me, but if Garth Snow wants a top prospect, a 1st rounder and a 2nd rounder for Thomas Vanek, I may have considered that before Vanek confirmed that he wanted to test the maret...But now that he embarrassed himself and the Austrian Olympic team by going out and getting blotto with some teammates prior to battling Slovenia, I wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole.

An NHL pro scout, after watching the Buffalo Sabres, said: “Ryan Miller is about all they’ve got. He’s playing unreal.” So where do the Sabres send the goalie at the trade deadline? Are the New York Islanders on his list of teams he’d play for? Are the Nashville Predators, if Pekka Rinne is out for longer than they thought?

- I find it interesting that the NHL was dead-set against those 12-year contracts for players, making a term of eight years for their own free agents and seven years for another team’s players the maximum, but jumped for joy when Rogers came up with the same 12-year, $5.2-billion TV deal.

- Defenceman Shea Weber will have a visor on when he returns to the lineup. The hockey gods smiled on him when David Perron’s shot hit the Nashville Predators’ captain around his right eye. He escaped major injury. Why any D-man would ever go without a visor is a mystery to me, with all the errant pucks. Marc Staal also got lucky last year when Kimmo Timonen’s deflected shot nailed him.

...

- Tri-City Americans goalie Eric Comrie, Mike’s younger half-brother, has a routine at every stoppage where he comes to the bench and gets down on one knee, away from the other players, a la Tim Tebow. “It’s always the same place. I do some breathing exercises, trying to maintain my energy,” said Comrie.

The Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch must be doing triple time this weekend. He's offered all but "embedded" coverage of Daniel Alfredsson's return to Ottawa, but he still found the time to posit his weekly roundup of trade rumors, and he leads off with the suggestion that the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres may make another blockbuster trade:

Two league executives told the Sun that [New York Islanders GM Garth] Snow has been working the phones to see if he can get a goaltender to try to get the club back on track in the race for the post-seaason.

The ideal scenario: Convince Ryan Miller to waive his ‘no move’ clause and leave the Buffalo Sabres for a short-term stay in Long Island to help the club make the post-season.

Miller will find it a lot different with the Sabres under Ted Nolan. He is a players’ coach but he also likes things done his way. If they aren’t, he’ll come down hard on the offenders.

It may be in Miller’s best interests to move on. The Isles may be a longshot but they need to improve in net or it’ll be an even longer year and coach Jack Capuano is on the hotseat.

Former New York Islanders goaltender Rick DiPietro tells the Globe and Mail's Viv Bernstein that he's doing quite well in the AHL at least on a personal basis, and the current Charlotte Checkers (the Carolina Hurricanes' AHL affiliate) goaltender tells Bernstein that he's very happy to be taking one final kick at the pro hockey can, but it sounds like DiPietro's going to have to move on to the next stop if he is to resurrect his career:

DiPietro has had a difficult start with Charlotte. He is 0-4 with a 5.18 goals-against average and an .846 save percentage in his first five games, including a 4-3 loss to the Rockford IceHogs on Sunday in which he made 26 saves. On a recent night when [Hurricanes GM Jim] Rutherford went to a mostly empty Time Warner Cable Arena to watch him play, DiPietro allowed five goals on 15 shots against the Hershey Bears and was pulled midway through the second period of a 5-3 loss.

“He doesn’t have his confidence now,” said Rutherford, a former NHL goalie. “That position, more than any other position in hockey, it’s important to have your confidence, and so he’s probably thinking too much while the game’s on, which isn’t a good thing.”

Okay maybe they are not alone but they did create a great event with the Winter Classic in one (more) partial lockout possibly destroyed it.

The NHL made the Stadium Series as a way to create quick cash after the lockout. Let’s not pretend there is any other reason behind it, the NHL is a business, and the Stadium Series was created to make up revenue lost while the NHL and the players battled out the new CBA.

Now with so many outdoor names the casual fan that the NHL has been going after with these games (hey there are neat and a great way to teach the game and get some history in to these new and novice fans – not going to deny that); however, if people that follow the NHL to the point they write on an NHL teams blog are confused as to what is and isn’t the Winter Classic than you have to know that the new fans are just as lost if not more so.

Over the last 36-or-so hours, hockey pundits have dedicated a significant amount of bandwidth to dissecting the Thomas Vanek-Matt Moulson trade, attempting to discern whether either player has a long-term future with their new respective employers, or whether the New York Islanders or Buffalo Sabres "won" the trade.

In an "Ask Matty" column, I believe that the Edmonton Journal's Jim Matheson offers the most honest--and blunt--assessment of the trade:

Q: What do you think about Buffalo trading Thomas Vanek now and not waiting until the trade deadline? (Jeff Lore)

A: Embattled Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier did nicely to get first- and second-round draft picks and Matt Moulson for essentially a rental player, and he can use Moulson at the trade deadline to maybe get another first-rounder because he, too, is an unrestricted free-agent. Moulson, who had John Tavares passing him the puck on Long Island, will find it a tad more difficult to score goals in Buffalo with nobody nearly as good as Tavares in the Sabres lineup. Vanek is a better sniper, but Moulson is a solid NHL winger who can fill the hole for now. It’s not a deep amateur draft, but if Buffalo can move Moulson, they could still have three first-rounders in June. Question I have: didn’t the Islanders need UFA goalie Ryan Miller from Buffalo more than Vanek? Evgeni Nabokov is a middling tender, at best.

Matheson continues while answering Oilers-related comments, and I just don't know whether Garth Snow can convince Vanek to remain an Islander long-term. As ESPN New York's Katie Strang suggested, Snow made a "gamble" in removing Islanders captian John Tavares' closest on-ice pal from the equation:

What are the Islanders getting from Nabokov?

Nabokov is going to play for the Islanders this season, and he’s showing off his new mask. He’s keeping with the same theme on his mask, with the swamp zombie skull head, only this time the swamp zombie is done up in Islanders colors. The question is, after most of last season off, will Nabokov be fresh, healed, and ready to play, or is he liable to find himself stale?

In their first game since Friday’s goonfest against Pittsburgh, the New York Islanders are in Buffalo today to take on a Sabres team that needs to win in order to end the day within three points of a playoff spot.

It’ll be interesting to see what condition emotionally the Islanders are in today, not far removed from back-to-back nights that featured a nice shootout win in Montreal and an unforgettable team bonding exercise against the Penguins.

The Sabres obviously won’t complain if New York’s balloon deflates and they come out flat, but it would be foolish to expect it. The Islanders, who have already beaten the Sabres twice in the past month, are a close-knit group that at last check still has a talented group of young forwards playing on a team with nothing to lose.

Buffalo’s game plan should center around shutting down John Tavares, who had a 4-point night on Friday and has tallied 3 goals, 3 assists, and 16 shots on goal in three games against the Sabres this season.

Ryan Miller will likely get his 31st consecutive start, and Patrick Kaleta is expected to return to the lineup from injury. The Sabres defeated the Islanders in their only day game played thus far this season, while New York is 3-3-0 in day games.

Sometimes it’s as simple as your best players being your best players.

The Sabres earned a big 4-2 win in Boston last night, and regardless of what the 3-stars voters had to say, this game was about Ryan Miller (38 saves) and Thomas Vanek (game-winning goal, assist) coming through when it mattered most.

On the subject of Miller, there have been rumblings in the local media that he should get a game off before the All-Star break. The talk after last night’s game was about whether or not Patrick Lalime or Jhonas Enroth should start the following night against the New York Islanders.

This is the same media that reminds us continuously that the Sabres as an organization don’t display enough desperation. Sitting a healthy Miller tonight, when the alternatives are a guy who hasn’t won a single game since Easter and a rookie struggling to be a .500 goalie in the AHL, wouldn’t exactly exemplify a sense of urgency.

The New York Islanders announced today that they have agreed to terms on a two year contract with defenseman Mike Mottau.

Mottau, 32, spent the last three seasons with the New Jersey Devils. Last season, the Quincy, MA, native scored a career high 18 points (two goals, 16 assists) and a +4 plus-minus rating in 79 games with New Jersey.

“Mike is a solid puck-moving defenseman who will bring more experience to our blueline,” said General Manager Garth Snow.

It was only a matter of time before Mike Mottau found a home, but the injury to Mark Streit obviously created an opening the Islanders needed to address.

Sources tell TSN that the New York Islanders and veteran forward Chris Simon have agreed that time away from the team is needed to come to terms with his recent on-ice behavior and potentially, his playing future.

Islanders owner Charles Wang met Simon earlier today to discuss the direction best suited to provide Simon with the support he deserves.

Simon has been granted time away from the team to seek counselling, or any other method to help restore his career.

Charles Wang: “The actions of Chris Simon on Saturday do not reflect what the New York Islanders stand for. They were reckless, potentially dangerous and against our team concept of grit, character and heart.

“We know Chris as a respected teammate and as a gracious man away from the playing surface and believe strongly that he has earned our continued support. The Islanders are going to provide some time for Chris away from the team and give him the counseling he needs and the compassion he deserves.”

Last week, the New York Islanders hosted their fathers on a road trip through Atlanta, Florida and Tampa. Team captain Bill Guerin immediately informed the fathers of their curfew—no one was to be in the team hotel until after 1 a.m.

Defenseman Andy Sutton has been in the NHL a decade, but this is the first time he and his father, Nigel, have shared something like this.

“This is a huge thing. My dad is just like a kid in a candy story. He’s just so pumped. It’s a pretty special thing,” Sutton said.

Because salaries are pro-rated against the cap on a daily basis, when they reach the mid-point of the season, the Islanders will have the ability to take on players whose contracts total up to $15 million at that point because half their salaries already will have been paid. So, cap room isn’t a problem.

But since the NHL isn’t a fantasy league, the trouble is finding someone who is ready to give up a goal scorer. That’s not likely to happen much before the Feb. 26 trade deadline. At a time when the Islanders have gone 12 straight games without scoring more than two goals (not counting the shootout goal against Ottawa), that’s why they must look within for help.

Wednesday’s game was a sort of dress rehearsal for Peng and Chang, veteran sports broadcasters based in New York. But today, when the Islanders face Atlanta, viewers who press the S.A.P. button on their remote controls will be able to hear Peng and Chang describe the action on Fox Sports Net.

The broadcast Wednesday, the second such dress rehearsal for Peng and Chang, apparently went so well that the Islanders have decided to take the next step in telecasting games in Mandarin.

By the end of the season, the Islanders hope to have at least one of their games telecast in China.

As players from both teams entered the fray, Martinek said Hollweg threatened him and then reached for his face.

“He said he is going to take my stitches out. I think that was stupid,” said Martinek, a 5-foot-11, 200-pound defenseman.

Martinek added that no damage was done, but said he had never seen a player act in such a way.

“No, no. Never, never,” he said. “I think he could show a little bit of respect, but he didn’t. I cannot respect him.”

Hollweg contended that he was merely defending Orr, a 6-3, 222-pound forward, who has five career points and 239 penalty minutes in 114 NHL games. Simon and Witt had already double-teamed Orr before Martinek got near.

The New York Islanders are clearly Devil-Worshippers. It’s like they took Jersey’s old trap and said “This is too exciting, let’s make it more defensive!” For 40 minutes, they spent more time in their own backyard than my dog. We ran a 30-second clip during our intermission of Ottawa with the puck in its own end. You never saw more than one Islander in the frame.

And sadly it works. The Isles have now scored 2 goals or less in 10 straight games. And they have 5 wins and 11 points to show for it.

The Senators joined the New York Islanders winger for dinner Tuesday night because they apparently really do like him and not because there might have been a chance to see Comrie’s squeeze, singer/clothes designer/teen idol Hilary Duff.

“I’ve got a lot of friends in the NHL now,” joked Comrie, who made the Islanders his fifth NHL organization in seven years when he signed here as a free agent during the summer.

Page 2 recently chatted with Sillinger about growing up in Saskatchewan, his early experiences as a pro and living the life of an NHL nomad.

Page 2: Since I’m a fellow Canadian and not far from your age, I have to start by asking you about growing up in Regina in the ‘70s. As a kid, was it all about games of shinny out on a pond or an outdoor rink somewhere, only without the constant falling down and embarrassment?

Mike Sillinger: Hockey was just something I loved to do. I can remember way back—the first team I played on was the Citations hockey club. I was 4 or 5. We had these bright orange jerseys, some real beauties. When I got older, I’d always do my homework right away after school so I could go outside and play….